The Language Portal is a searchable digital library of close to 600 resources relating to the use of language access services in social services and public safety agencies. (And within the next few months, we will be adding language access services in health care and education.) Geared towards government administrators who want to make their services accessible to limited English proficient (LEP) individuals, the Portal provides relevant documents and guidance so agency staff can avoid recreating the wheel when providing translation and interpretation services.

The Portal allows users to download and share legal guidelines, service models, master contracts for service providers, hourly translation and interpretation rates for different languages in key areas of the United States, pay differentials for multilingual staff, and sample translated documents. Our hope is the Portal becomes the place for sharing best practices. Click here to launch a search of the Language Portal.

The phrase "language access services" describes services that agencies use to bridge the communication barrier with individuals who cannot speak, understand, read, or write English fluently. Both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and President Clinton's 2000 LEP Executive Order (Executive Order 13166) mandate compliance for any agency receiving federal funds. Click here for more information about the legal requirements to provide language access.

Examples of agency-wide initiatives that make services accessible to LEP clients include the following:

• Recruiting, employing and retaining bilingual employees (For example, Oklahoma Department of Human Services Interpreter/Translator Job Description)
• Contracting with translation/interpretation companies (For example, State of Washington's Request For Proposal (RFP) for Translation Services)
• Creating comprehensive plans to serve Limited English Proficient populations (For example, Hennepin County Limited English Proficiency Plan – Health and Human Services Departments)
• Translating key documents (For example, Florida Department of Children & Families' application for benefits)
• Establishing offices dedicated to Language Access Service (For example, Oakland, California's Equal Access Office)
  

We would like to thank the Annie E. Casey Foundation and its Language Access Practitioner's Network for their assistance and support in the development of our digital library.

The quality and scope of our digital library relies upon the contributions of publicly available state and local government documents. If you would like to recommend a document for inclusion or if you have found an error in our digital libary, please email us.

Welcome to the Language Portal and the inaugural issue of Practitioners' Corner, initiatives of MPI's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. We created the Language Portal to provide "one-stop shopping" for the many local government administrators, policymakers, and others who are looking for ways to provide high-quality and cost-effective translation and interpretation services.

This first issue of the Corner will serve as an introduction to the features of our Language Portal; however, in the future, the Corner will be staffed by guest columnists, typically language access services administrators and experts who will discuss challenges facing practitioners and tips for maximizing the effectiveness of language services programs. The Practitioners' Corner will be updated regularly and future topics will feature issues such as creating an initial language access plan, working with telephonic interpretation services versus volunteer translators, and negotiating with subcontractors for the provision of translation and interpretation services. We hope that the Corner will be a helpful resource to you and your work, and we encourage you to write to languageportal@migrationpolicy.org with your ideas and suggestions for information that would be helpful to include in the Portal, and topics that would be helpful to cover in the Practitioners' Corner.

Health

Language Services for Patients with Limited English Proficiency: Results of a National Survey of Internal Medicine Physicians
By Jack A. Ginsburg, MPE
American College of Physicians, April 15, 2007

Effect of Awareness of Language Law on Language Access in the Health Care Setting
By Vanessa Grubbs MD, MPH, et. al.
Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21 (7), 683–688, July 2006

The Impact of Interpreters on Parents' Experiences with Ambulatory Care for Their Children
By Leo S. Morales, Marc Elliott, et. al.
Medical Care Research and Review, Vol. 63, No. 1, 2006

For the Benefit of All: Ensuring Immigrant Health and Well-Being
By Grantmakers in Health
November 2005

Pay Now Or Pay Later: Providing Interpreter Services In Health Care
By Leighton Ku and Glenn Flores
Health Affairs, 2005

A Patient-Centered Guide to Implementing Language Access Services in Healthcare Organizations
Project Officer: Guadalupe Pacheco
Contract No. 282–98–0029, Task Order No. 48, 2005

Overcoming Language Barriers in Health Care: Costs and Benefits of Interpreter Services
By Elizabeth A. Jacobs, MD, MPP, et. al.
American Journal of Public Health 866-869, May 2004

Immigrants, Persons with Limited Proficiency in English, and the TANF Program: What Do We Know?
By Shawn Fremstad
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, March 2003

Congressional Briefing: The Growing Need for Language Services
By National Health Law Program
December 2004

What a Difference an Interpreter Can Make: Health Care Experiences of Uninsured with Limited English Proficiency
The Access Project from the Center for Community Health Research and Action of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management
Brandeis University, April 2002

Education

Educating Parents in the Spanish-Speaking Community: A Look at Translated Educational Materials
By Sonia Colina and Julie Sykes
Bilingual Research Journal, 28: 3, Fall 2004

Legal/Criminal Justice

Interpreting Communities: Lawyering Across Language Difference
By Muneer I. Ahmad
U.C.L.A. Law Review, 2007

If Parents Don't Speak English Well, Will Their Kids Get Locked Up? Language Barriers and Disproportionate Minority Contact in the Juvenile Justice System
By Susan Shah
Vera Institute of Justice, October 2007

Overcoming Language Barriers in the Criminal Justice System: Can Language Assistance Technology Help?
By Insha Rahman, Joe Hirsch and Susan Shah
Vera Institute of Justice, September 2007

Increasing Access to Justice for Limited English Proficient Asian Pacific Americans
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
May 2007

Opening Our Doors to Language-Minority Clients
By Paul Uyehara
Journal of Poverty Law and Policy, March – April 2003

Public Safety

Overcoming Language Barriers: Solutions for Law Enforcement
By Susan Shah, Insha Rahman and Anita Khashu
Vera Institute of Justice, September 2007

Lost in Translation: Limited English Proficient Populations and the Police
By Bharathi A.Venkatraman
Police Chief, Vol. 73, No. 4, 2006

Social Services

Increasing Access to Services for Limited English Proficient Persons
By Lessard J. D. Gabrielle
International Journal of Public Administration, Volume 27, Issue 1 & 2, January 2005

The Application Process for TANF, Food Stamps, Medicaid and SCHIP: Issues for Agencies and Applicants Including Immigrants and Limited English Speakers
By Pamela Holcomb, et al.
The Urban Institute, January 2003

Language Access: Helping Non-English Speakers Navigate Health and Human Services
By Ann Morse
National Conference ofState Legislatures, January 2003

Increasing Access to Services for Limited English Proficient Persons
National Immigration Law Clinic
August 2003

How to Choose and Use a Language Agency: A Guide for Health and Social Service Providers Who Wish to Contract with Language Agencies
By Cynthia E. Roat
California Endowment, 2003

Other

Language Rights: An Integration Agenda for Immigrant Communities
By Sam Jammal and Tuyet Duong
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) & the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), November 2007

Avoiding Burnout of Bilingual Employees
By Anne Sturby
The Race Equity Project, September 2007

Report To Congress: Assessment of the Total Benefits and Costs of Implementing Executive
Order No. 13166: Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency
Office of Management and Budget, March 14, 2002